


Murphy's Law

by GalacticDavey



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Shance, Jealousy, M/M, PINING KEITH, Time Shenanigans, but it's mild and brief and also because the timeline is collapsing, endgame shklance, i want to preface this that i don't know dick about science re: time loops so don't @ me, questionable use of time loops to make moves on your crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 16:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15845046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticDavey/pseuds/GalacticDavey
Summary: The only thing worse than the same day repeating over and over again is having to watch your two crushes be all cute and snuggly. Over and over again.But just maybe, Keith can find the silver lining to being trapped in a time loop. After all, what's the point in behaving himself if no one's going to remember in a matter of hours?





	Murphy's Law

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for my friend Blanc! <3

“Coran, what’s going on?” Keith demands, teeth grinding nearly to dust in his frustration.

Coran is tapping away at the holoscreens, hopping from one to the other and taking in data as quickly as he can. “Well, it appears we are passing through a warp in space-time—”

“A  _ what _ ?”

“Well, it’s a sort of—like a—”

“Like a scratch in a record,” Pidge explains, peering over Coran’s shoulder. “Which makes us the needle.”  


“A scratch in a what now?” Coran asks. Before Pidge, or anyone else, can get trapped in a rut trying to explain outdated audio mediums, Keith groans, burying his head in his hands.

“We don’t have  _ time _ for this! We’ve been doing this over and over for  _ days _ —”

“Well, technically,” Hunk pipes in, “no time would really be passing at all. We’re stuck in a rut.” He pauses, eyes narrowing. “Wait, how are  _ you _ aware of the weird time loop when all the rest of us are—”

 

Keith’s eyes shoot open. “No,” he groans. “No no no no  _ no _ .” He checks his holopad, and sure enough, it is the exact same day. Again. He’s lost count of how many times he’s done this, at this point. He estimates that he’s been reliving the same day for about a week now, but trying to keep track has proved useless, since any attempts he’s made (tally marks, recordings, calendar alerts,  _ everything _ ) vanish once the loop resets.

Everything around him repeats over and over and over again—and he is the only one who knows it’s happening.

So, for the  _ n _ th time, he calls a team meeting.

For the  _ n _ th time, he tries not to let his eyes linger on Shiro and Lance, who are still in their pajamas and adorably sleep-rumpled, snuggled up to each other on the common room couch as they wait for Keith to explain just what the hell he’s made them get up so early for.

“We’re stuck in a time loop.”

He’s had this same meeting so many times, his explanations getting brisker, more irritated—but more accurate, too—each time he’s done it. To the rest of his team, he probably just came off as particularly grumpy ( _ the asshole, yet again, always always always _ ), but he has long run out of patience. No time to try and be nice, or whatever, he is sick of this, he wants out—

“We’re what?”

“A time loop,” he snaps. “Coran, last time you said we’re passing through some sort of warp or gravitational anomaly—so please, please tell me that you can figure out how to get us out of it because I’m getting  _ really _ sick of doing this.”

Lance is squinting at Keith, leaning into Shiro, probably still half asleep. “Is this your idea of a prank, mullet head?”

“I’m not  _ joking around _ , Lance,” he growls. “ _ Some _ of us do things other than  _ goof off _ all the time.”

“Keith,” Shiro begins, his voice all low and smooth in that way he  _ knows _ calms Keith down, and it almost works, almost, if it weren’t cut off by Lance’s derisive snort.

“Right, I should have guessed. You’re too preoccupied with the stick in your ass to try and do anything fun.”

“ _ Lance _ .”

It takes Keith a moment to reply—this is new. This is different. Hell, if he can’t break the loop, at least something finally  _ changed _ . Progress is progress, right?

“Yeah, next time I’m living the same shitty day over and over, I’ll be sure to make  _ fun _ my number one priority. But right now I’m a little more concerned with—”

Coran had made his way over to the computer, tapping away, his moustache twitching furiously.

“—getting out of this damn time rut—”

His eyes widen. “Oh! Yep, right here it is.”

“—so I don’t have to watch  _ you two _ —”

“Keith, my boy, you were right!”

“— _ drooling all over each other! _ ”

There is an audible intake of breath, from everyone  _ except _ Coran, who is apparently oblivious to the drama unfolding behind him. He turns around with a bright grin. “Bad news is, it’s too late to steer out of it. But on the bright side—oh, my, why’s everyone looking so…?”

Keith turns around, pointedly ignoring his friends’ shocked—and hurt, in two cases—stares. “What’s the good news, Coran?”

Coran hesitates for just a moment, still stuck on the much darker mood in the room. “Erm. Well, we will pass through it. It’s just a matter of waiting it out.”

“Waiting it out?” Keith balks. “How long is that going to take?”

“Well, no time at all, really, since we won’t notice it—except, well, you, I suppose. Oh, dear.”

“There’s gotta be some way to change the ship’s course, right? I can’t just— I’m gonna lose it if I have to do this much longer, Coran.” The man hums, looking over the data once more.

“Well, I’ll keep looking. When does the loop usually reset?”

Keith checks the time. So far he hadn’t made it past the half-quintent mark, so… “In about four vargas.” It usually took longer to get them to listen—or to find whatever the hell weird space bullshit they were stuck in that was making time stop being linear. Maybe he’d done something right. Maybe the cycle is finally breaking, and they’d have enough time to find out how to fix it.

“We’ll see what we can do, then!” Coran crows. Hunk, Pidge and Allura quickly join him, each comparing data and already muttering to one another about theories, possible solutions—Keith is a pilot, so he’s no stranger to physics, but the more theoretical side of things starts to go a little over his head. He isn’t a dunce by any means, but in this regard, he wasn’t much help, not until they came up with some sort of explanation and some possible solutions. So that’s team meeting adjourned, he supposes. Now it’s just a waiting game—a really twisted, possibly neverending waiting game, and that thought exhausts him. With the important stuff out of the way, Lance takes the opportunity to storm from the common room, Shiro jumping up to follow him.

To Keith’s surprise, he hesitates to go after him, though he quickly wishes he had just gone off to be the gallant boyfriend when that gunmetal gaze settles on him, stern, almost icy. Almost, but not quite. That is, he supposes, a relief, at any rate.

“Is there something you want to talk to me about?” Shiro asks, voice low so only Keith can hear him. He doesn’t sound angry. Just—tired. Keith can relate to that.

He shrugs, his stubborn streak rearing its ugly head. “What’s there to talk about?” He grumbles, not quite meeting Shiro’s eyes. “Lance and I have never really been buddy-buddy.”

Shiro looks less than convinced. “Come on, Keith. That wasn’t like your usual arguments. That was—” he huffs. “That was some pretty visceral stuff.” Damn it, damn it, his eyes are getting all soft, why can’t he just be  _ mad _ instead, it would be so much easier. Keith is already melting under that gaze. “You’ve been holding that in for a while.”

“Okay.” Keith relents, cheeks going pink. He’s never been able to hide from Shiro. “Okay, yeah, maybe I have.” Shiro straightens up, looking him over, taking him in for a long moment.

“You think I haven’t noticed you being distant, lately?”

“Well, you haven’t exactly brought it up, or made any attempt to change it, so honestly, I  _ was _ starting to think you hadn’t noticed.” He doesn’t mean to snap. He really, really doesn’t, and now Shiro is giving him that hurt, confused look—

“Keith,” he begins, uncertain, “are you—mad? About Lance and I?”

“What?” Actually, okay, he can totally see how Shiro might think that. His outburst from earlier was hardly Exhibit A. More like Exhibit...Y. “No!” But he really isn’t _mad_ —not that they were together, at least. “That’s not it at all.” Or, not quite, anyway. He isn’t sure how to put into words, what it is he’s feeling.  
So he doesn’t. “Look, I’m—I’m just really tired from all the...the time loop stuff. It’s been a long day. Several times over.” He scrubs at his face. “I’m gonna go try and clear my head. Distract myself from all....” He gestures vaguely toward the group huddled around the computer, talking over equations and gravitational forces, and whatever; but also gesturing to the ship, in general, this Groundhog’s Day situation, the _Lance and Shiro_ situation, that one not the least of all these.

And with that, he turns tail and books it to the training room to work out until he can’t think. Might as well do something productive for the next few vargas. He isn’t certain that it will even have an impact on his body, what with the time reversion, but hey, only one way to find out.

Shiro doesn’t follow him, thank god. Let him go comfort Lance, or whatever. He doesn’t want to deal with this, doesn’t want to have to own up—

He finds himself almost hoping that they won’t fix the loop just yet, just so that the whole outburst can be forgotten and he can start fresh tomorrow. Well,  _ today _ , technically, but… Whatever.

 

He’s had a crush on Shiro for forever, basically. It wasn’t exactly a big secret, in retrospect—to everyone except himself, anyway, because he was oblivious and feelings were  _ hard _ , okay? And, fine, Keith is man enough to admit it: he was scared. Even when he had realized that his feelings ran much, much deeper than friendly admiration, there was no way he was going to fess up to it. Shiro was everything to him. What if he didn’t feel the same way? What if it messed everything up? Losing Shiro wasn’t an option. It wasn’t worth the risk. Keith could ignore his romantic feelings for the sake of just—having Shiro around at all. That was all he needed, really, all he could really ask for. Anything else seemed like he’d just be pushing his luck.

Then, well, Kerberos happened, and he had a lot of regrets. Maybe he should have taken the chance, after all—

And when he found out Shiro was still alive? He was ecstatic. It was like a message from the universe: this was a second shot. He could still do this right.

But, you know, between rescuing Shiro from the Garrison, and then being spirited away by magical robot lions, he got a little sidetracked.

Then there was Lance. He was a cocky idiot, and a complete ass, a spaz, and all he did was mess around or goof off—

But, okay, he has a way of making everyone laugh. Even Keith, though he is very careful to keep it secret because there is no way he’s about to give Lance that satisfaction. And he’s genuinely caring, when it comes down to it, and—okay, yeah, he can be pretty cool when he’s doing his sharpshooter thing.

Also he is impossibly,  _ infuriatingly _ pretty.

But Keith is still head over heels for Shiro.

But he is definitely developing feelings for Lance, too.

So he’s confused. Understandably so, in his own mind. He has decided, once again, that feelings are hard, and also stupid, and he has already been at a loss on how to approach Shiro, but he doesn’t have the slightest clue where to even  _ begin _ navigating this minefield. Two crushes, Keith?  _ Two _ ?

He isn’t just confused, he’s frustrated. Beyond that, even, he was…

Guilty.

That’s it, that feeling curdling and souring in his gut. Guilt. Because, really, how greedy can he be? Wanting to be with  _ two _ people? He’s never even dated  _ one _ person before. It’s ridiculous, and he’s getting way, way ahead of himself.

And it only got worse when Shiro and Lance started dating.

When they’d announced it at dinner, no one else had been surprised. He’d been so absorbed in just—just watching them, longing—that he hadn’t put two and two together. The long looks, the soft smiles, the late-night training sessions… He’d been the one paying the most attention to them, and yet he hadn’t even seen that they were totally falling for each other.

And he feels so— so— stupid, and lost, and  _ jealous _ , jealous of both of them—no. No, not jealous, not really. He likes them together, he really does. Seeing them together makes him warm all over, flushed, he has to fight to suppress smiles just watching them, sometimes, until that warmth fades, goes cold and dark and painful. He isn’t mad that they’re  _ together _ —

He just hates that he isn’t part of it.

 

Keith trains for hours—not that this is unusual. He spends a lot of time in the training room, running drills, sparring with the battle android. It’ll make him stronger, which is certainly a big deal in the middle of a space war, but more important than that (his priorities might be a little skewed, because realistically, few things are more important than  _ being able to win a fight in a space war _ ), it helps clear his head. It’s sorta hard to feel sorry for himself and bemoan romantic drama when he’s trying to avoid getting his ass kicked. Sometimes, by the end of a good session, he’s even come to peace with things that had been bothering him, like he’s worked it out of his system.

He’s starting to think he’s gotten out some of his frustration when Shiro appears. “How did I know you’d be here?”

“I’m always here,” Keith scoffs, trying to seem unaffected. He calls off the training sequence, pushing sweaty bangs from his face and reaching for the water pouch he’d left nearby. When he glances over, he thinks he sees Shiro—no, no, Shiro wouldn’t look at him like that. He has a boyfriend. It’s just wishful thinking. And a clear sign that he isn’t done working out today. “What’s up?”

Now it’s Shiro’s turn to scoff. “‘What’s up?’ Have you already forgotten everything that happened earlier?” Keith hums, sipping at his water as nonchalantly as he can manage.

“No. But it’s not a big deal. I told you, I’m just on edge. From the time warp thing.”

Shiro clicks his jaw, glances away. Keith knows that face. It’s his  _ Oh, right, I’m being an ass _ face. Because maybe, just  _ maybe _ , Keith has more important things to worry about and be upset over than Shiro’s relationship. How self-absorbed could a person  _ be _ , right? “Doesn’t explain what you said earlier.”

Okay, he has Keith there.

“Like I said,” he tries again. “On edge. Lance was just getting on my nerves, is all.” Shiro gives him a steady look, and he relents. “Okay, you  _ and _ Lance, yeah, so I guess you aren’t totally off, but it’s not like—I’m just frustrated. About being stuck on the same day. And I can’t exactly yell at time, so I—lashed out. I’m sorry.” He seems to buy that, at least a little. And, well, it isn’t like it’s a  _ lie _ . He’s been pretty discreet about his weird, mixed feelings, he thinks. “Can you...tell Lance I’m sorry, too? He seemed pretty pissed.”

He hums. “You’ll have to tell him yourself. I can’t keep apologizing on your behalf, you know. Doesn’t really mean much.”  _ Keep _ apologizing. “And I don’t think you’re being dishonest, but… You have to have noticed that things have been tense, even before today. However many times today has happened.” So much for  _ discreet _ , Keith thinks, shoulders drooping a bit. The joke, at least, gets a smile out of him, though it doesn’t last long. He glances away quickly. “Keith… You’re still- my best friend. Just because I’m seeing someone, that doesn’t mean that has to change. I’m not trying to push you out, and neither is Lance.”

He’s getting closer, and Keith thinks about backing away, keeping space between them, but ultimately he stands his ground. Steps closer, even, until they’re breathing the same air, until he’s narrowing his eyes at Shiro, practically nose to nose.

“Well,” he rasps, before he can think of what he’s saying, “maybe I  _ want _ things to change.” Shiro’s eyes widen, and the lightest flush dusts his cheeks. “You ever thought about that?” They’re so close now. Shiro doesn’t back away, but he sure is tense.

“Also, uh, if—the loop ends at mid-quintant, right? That’s soon. Time’s almost up.”

Good. Excellent. He can try this all over again and not fuck it up. “Yeah, guess it is.” And then, Keith gets an idea. It’s a stupid, terrible idea, and while part of him is screaming not to do it, not to test his luck, a bigger part of him is urging him to just fucking  _ go for it already _ . What better time than  _ now _ , after all?

So he closes the space between them, and he kisses Takashi Shirogane.

There’s a pause before, to his surprise, Shiro kisses him back.

It’s everything he ever dreamed it would be, except he doesn’t really get a whole lot of time to enjoy it because the door to the training room opens, Lance babbling something about how maybe the three of them should talk together, cutting himself off with a choked gasp when he sees them.

Before he can do anything—try to knock Keith’s teeth down his throat, yell, scream, whatever—the clock strikes midnight...or, noon, technically, midday, whatever  _ day _ even is out in the void of space. The magical coach turns into a pumpkin and Keith is waking up in bed again, the day reset once more.

But this time he senses great, great possibilities.

 

He isn’t about to give up on getting out of this fucking time loop, of course. As much fun as he can have here, there’s no way he wants to stay stuck in the same day forever. But, while the scientists figure it out, as he’s asked them to do once more, he might as well play a little.

Since the day is going to reset again, there’s no consequences. He can do whatever the hell he wants, and when the clock hits the right time, he’ll zap right back to the beginning, and now one will remember a thing.

So first thing he does, of course, is call the team meeting. Again. And again, this time he gets his point across even faster, though he’s considerably calmer this time around. Maybe they will be stuck in the loop a few repetitions longer, but now that he knows he doesn’t have to stick to the script...it doesn’t seem quite as terrifying.

With their quicker start time, Pidge and Hunk both notice something—Keith doesn’t take note of what it is—and they all head off to the lab to study things further. Keith plops himself down in Lance’s lap, grinning at the startled look he gets from the two remaining paladins in the room.

“Uh. Keith,” Lance starts, but doesn’t finish, unable to find words. Shiro is equally as baffled. “What are you doing?”

“What? It looked like a very comfy seat.”

Lance looks to Shiro for help—he and Keith are best friends, he’s probably thinking, he’s gotta know what’s up with Keith. Shiro gives him a look that’s somewhere between  _ I don’t know what’s happening _ and  _ I mean, he’s right, _ and Keith can’t help but laugh.

“I know I keep trying to get the two of you to get along, but,” Shiro starts, the faintest of grins on his face, “this isn’t what I was expecting.”

Keith is just waiting to get dumped off of Lance’s lap. Surely it’s going to happen any time now—but after a moment, Lance settles back, looking just a bit flushed. He and Shiro exchange a look, one that Keith can’t read, and it’s like  a tiny punch to the gut, but he doesn’t hate it, either, not even close.

He feels just a tiny bit left out, but he can ignore that. As long as they’re in this weird crack in space-time, or whatever the hell it is, he doesn’t have to worry about what will happen next. If something goes wrong, things are just going to reset again, and he can start at the beginning with no one any wiser.

So he flirts. Shamelessly. He gets a little embarrassed, of course, how can he  _ not _ , but knowing that no one is going to remember any of this in a few hours leaves an air of freedom to the whole thing. If he makes an idiot of himself, well, who cares? He’s just gotta wait until the clock ticks over—

And he can do it all again.

Every day—or every repetition, that is—they get closer and closer to finding a way to unstick themselves from the gravity pocket, or whatever’s causing this whole mess. Keith is hardly paying attention at this point, his priorities shifting to having as much fun as he can, while he can.

Maybe Lance has a little bit of a point about loosening up once in a while, not that Keith will ever admit it out loud. He could sure give it a shot, once time starts working properly again.

In the meantime, he keeps himself entertained.

He finds that approaching them together is usually easier—they spend so much time together, anyways, and when he starts flirting they end up just kind of looking at each other now and then, but roll with it.

When he gets them alone, it’s a bit of a different story. Lance gives him the most suspicious glares, fires back all barbs and sarcasm. A couple of times they even end up fighting. But, then, a couple times they end up kissing, too, and that makes it all worth it. Of course, there’s the time Lance shoves him away, looking like he’s about to cry before hurrying off, guilty and hurt. Or the time Shiro catches them. Keith isn’t going to forget the look on his face for a long, long time—at least Shiro will. That’s a small comfort.

But there’s also the time he gets Lance pressed against the wall and gasping, and he clings onto that loop like a lifeline, the way Lance pulls him close and tugs on his hair—

Reset.

Shiro is a little easier. Deep down, Keith suspects why, but he isn’t going to let himself get too attached to the tiny hope. True or not, Shiro still has a boyfriend, so better to just have his fun now and move on when this whole thing is over.

It’s not so hard to catch Shiro alone, first of all. They are best friends, after all, even if Keith hasn’t been the most  _ available _ , lately, what with brooding over what a dumbass he’s been. Shiro brings it up, of course, concerned, and Keith lets himself open up—but by bit—because, hell, what can it hurt? He exists in a vacuum right now, and soon enough it will be like the conversation never even happened.

He doesn’t ever give the full explanation, though. He can’t make himself do that, even knowing that the moment will be zapped out of existence in a matter of vargas. He’s gotta keep some things to himself, after all.

Shiro is loyal to a fault, of course. No surprise there. But Keith knows him, and he knows Keith, so it’s not hard to find all the right words. Scratch that—he doesn’t  _ have _ to find the right words, because even when he’s stumbling and clumsy with them, Shiro understands. He always has.

But he’d never make a move on him, especially not when he has a boyfriend, that would be  _ wrong _ .

So, whatever, Keith takes him by surprise by doing it himself.

Reset.

Several times over. He never gets tired of it. He doesn’t think he ever will, ever could. Maybe he could do this forever.

Except, of course, that Coran gets closer and closer to the solution each loop, so he has a very limited forever to work with.

But that’s fine. It’s enough. It’s more than he could have ever asked or even hoped for, so it’ll have to be.

Reset.

He takes a chance on kissing Lance one loop, with his legs draped casually over Shiro’s lap. Just to see what happens. To his surprise, or maybe it isn’t much of a surprise at all, this far in, Shiro doesn’t do much besides gape, shocked, but also—well, he looks stuck between a whole lot of feelings, unsure where he should settle.

Keith can relate.

He just smiles, nuzzling into a very red Lance, who’s eyeing his boyfriend with wide eyes. But there’s something else there, too.

Knowing.

So, slowly, eyes still trained on Shiro, Lance tips his head to kiss Keith again, and Shiro takes in the softest little gasp.

“Knew it,” Lance says, smiling slowly, slyly. Keith doesn’t get the chance to ask what the hell he means. Doesn’t have to. “Well, big guy, are you gonna just sit there and watch, or would you like to get in on this?”

Reset.

 

“How many times did you say we’ve done this, Keith?”

“Oh, I dunno,” he replies lazily, hardly paying attention at this point, already zeroed in on Shiro and Lance. “I’ve lost count.”

Coran hums. “Well, that’s not good.”

Keith manages to drag himself back into the present and pay attention. “Wait, what? What do you mean?”

“Well, the kind of energy involved in time travel is immense,” he explained. “And that’s been happening over and over for, well, some time now.”

“So?”

Hunk taps his chin. “Entropy, man. We’re just swimming in a whole mess of entropy. Which means things are gonna get really, really weird if we don’t stop the loops, and soon.”

“Weird how, exactly?” Keith asks, blanching slightly. Oh god, he’s been fooling around this whole time just assuming that everything would turn out okay—and now apparently things are going to start sliding into chaos and disorder or whatever because he’s been an irresponsible asshole and taking advantage of this situation—he’s the lowest of the low.

“It’s hard to say,” Allura replies, squinting at one of the holoscreens. “Entropy by nature is unpredictable, of course. Who knows how it could affect us. You’re the only one who’s aware of the loops, Keith. Have you noticed anything strange?”

Of course. Lance and Shiro are so into each other—there’s no way they would be as receptive as they had been the last few loops without interference from weird physics chaos energy. How could he be so  _ stupid _ ?

“I guess you guys have started acting—a little different,” he replies, trying to keep the humiliation and shame buried deep, deep down. “Nothing like, way out there, though.” What’s a little white lie, after all?

Coran hums again. “Well, that’s good! But we’d better work fast. Things will only decline further the longer we’re stuck in this rut.”

Keith rubs his temples, thinking. “Pidge, you said it’s like a scratch in a record, right? We’re the needle stuck in the groove.”

“Well, I don’t remember saying that,” fuck, of course not, “but that’s a pretty accurate description, yeah.”

“Well then, maybe we just have to—knock ourselves out of the groove.”

“The force required for that would be immense,” Allura says, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’ll have to consider our options very carefully to avoid damaging the castle too much, or we’ll just end up stranded here.”

“Pidge, didn’t you modify the engines to do some—some super strong pulse thing, like that pod—“

Pidge winces. “Yeah, but the bugs still aren’t worked out, yet. And the pod exploded. So.”

Right, fuck. That could blow the whole ship apart—

“But I can start working more on that, for if we exhaust all other options.”

“How are we even going to know when we’ve run out of options?” Hunk asks. “The loop’s gonna reset, and the only one who’s even going to remember any of this is Keith.”

He groans. “And any work you get done on those thrusters will be totally erased.”

Allura places a hand on his shoulder,  soft and reassuring. “We’ll do what we can, Keith. You’ll just have to keep us up to speed on how quickly things are deteriorating.”

“What if we’re stuck like this forever?”

“Oh, no, we’ll get out of it eventually,” Coran reassures. “In fact, the deterioration of the time loop is an indicator that we’re getting close to working our way out of it. Just, well, there’s no way of telling when.” ...Yeah, that wasn’t all that reassuring, actually.

“Yeah,” Keith deadpans. “Meanwhile I’ll be stuck in the time loop, helpless to do anything about it until the ship dislodges itself from this fucking— _ whatever _ .” Coran hums, wincing, but nods. “Great. Awesome.”

“We’d better get to work, then,” Allura says, determined. “There’s no time to waste.”

Keith glances at the clock. Yeah, no time to waste. That much is for sure.

 

Lance finds him later. In the training room. Again. He’s a creature of habit, even now. And, well, he isn’t in the mood to mess around with Lance and Shiro, given that the pocket of time they’re all currently stuck in is going to start devolving further and further into disorder. He has a lot on his mind, understandably.

“How are you feeling?”

“Not so hot,” Keith confesses, sighing and taking a seat on the floor. Lance winces, nods his understanding.

“Time loop,” he replies, flopping down next to Keith. “Heavy stuff.”

Keith nods, heaving another sigh. “I would give just about anything for this day to be over.”

“I bet,” Lance mumbles sympathetically. “But, hey, think of all the cool pranks you could pull in the meantime. And totally consequence-free, too!”

Man, Shiro was right, maybe he and Lance  _ do _ have more in common than Keith thinks.

“Mm. Yeah, I’ve… definitely done my fair share of goofing off the last several times through,” he smiled, just barely. “But now with all the talk about—entropy, and stuff, I feel like I’ve really gotta focus. So things don’t spin totally out of control. You know?”

Slowly, Lance nods. “Yeah, that’s a pretty spooky thought. Wait—you’ve been goofing off?” His face splits into a grin. “I don’t believe you.”

“Gotta keep myself entertained somehow,” Keith snarks back. “Otherwise it’ll just be the same shit over and over, and man, I was ready to lose it the fifth time around. Gotta mix it up.”

Lance’s smile is blinding. Brilliant.  _ Ugh _ . “So, what kind of shenanigans have you been up to? I want details.”

Keith blushes. “Oh, no, I…”

“C’mon. Not like I’m gonna remember any of it in a little while, anyway,” he jokes, and Keith can’t help but laugh just a bit. This shouldn’t make him feel better, it shouldn’t, but it does.

“You really wanna know?”

“Yeah.”

He leans closer, voice dropping low. “Do you  _ really  _ want to know, Lance?” He sees the color rise to Lance’s face, sees him swallow.

“Yes.” It’s almost a whisper, but that’s okay. There’s hardly any space between them, so Keith can hear him just fine.

“Alright. You asked for it.” And with a grin, he leans in and kisses him, slow and deep.

The first thing that takes Keith by surprise is that there’s no hesitation when Lance kisses him back—there’s usually at least a pause, something. But this time, it’s instant, Lance clinging to him almost desperately, pulling him close close closer.

The second thing is that when Shiro walks in, he doesn’t give Keith that wounded look. Instead, he’s looking at Lance, and he looks...angry.

“You didn’t even invite me!” He scoffs, striding towards them, prowling. “What a mean boyfriend.”

“Like you wouldn’t hog him all to yourself,” Lance calls back, limbs still coiled tight around Keith. “I just wanted a chance to play with him myself.”

“Uh, guys—“

“We  _ talked _ about this,” Shiro growls. He takes up position on Keith’s other side, presses so close that Keith can feel the low rumble of his voice. “Besides, if anyone should get first dibs—“

“Guys...”

“Oh, fuck your  _ saw him first _ bullshit, Shiro.  _ He _ kissed  _ me _ .” Lance nuzzled into Keith’s hair, grinning wide. “So, see? He decided he wanted me first.”

“That so?” He feels Shiro’s gaze shift to him. “Well, can’t say I’m not glad you’re  _ getting along _ .”

Keith wriggles his way out from between them so he can actually look at them, gaze flicking back and forth between them, eyes wide. “Just what the hell’s going on with you—“

He doesn’t get the chance to complete that sentence. Reset.

Keith sits up in bed, panting.

Fucking  _ entropy. _

 

This time around doesn’t go much better. He relays to the team everything they’ve discovered so far about the time rift, so they can pick up where they left off, at least relatively. Shiro and Lance are eyeing him the whole time, and Keith can’t help but feel like  _ prey _ under their gazes.

Reset.

Things get more out of control from there, until he’s stuck in a bizarre tug-of-war between the two, unsure what to do to calm them down, too shocked by their bickering and arguing. He’s never seen them get into more than the smallest, pettiest of disagreements, ,and they make up from those quickly—this is real, harsh and from the gut, so much so that he has a hard time believing it’s just the entropy talking. There’s something going on with them behind the scenes that the rest of the team hasn’t been seeing; it’s the only explanation, but Keith can’t even begin to guess what could possibly cause this kind of thing between them, even as just a seed that all the fucking time shenanigans are feeding and making worse.

And, even more concerning than that, the time bubble is getting smaller, the loop ending sooner and sooner, collapsing into discord just like Coran had said it would—

Reset.

It all comes to a head with a literal tug-of-war.

Keith hardly gets the chance to begin his team meeting when he finds himself practically crushed between Lance and Shiro, strong barrel chest pressed to his back, and Lance’s lean form fitted tight against his front, the two of them practically snarling at each other.

“We agreed,” Shiro says, voice low and rumbling with anger, “he knows me better. He trusts me. I should approach him first—”

“Yeah, well, plans change,” Lance scoffs with a roll of his eyes. “He’d freak the fuck out if you came onto him, Shiro.”

Hunk and Pidge are staring at them, between the three of them, eyes wide and scared, unsure of what to do. Allura and Coran, on the other hand, couldn’t be less interested in the weird love triangle being acted out in front of them—their gazes are focused on the window, the void of space outside—

“Keith,” Allura begins distractedly, “you said we were stuck in some sort of time loop—?”

“Yes—” He can barely choke out the response, with his two crushes jostling against him, looking like they’re ready to start a  _ real _ fight any second now— “Yes, and everything is all fucked up. It’s not supposed to be like this—”

“That’s for sure,” Pidge snarks. “Just what the hell is happening to them?”

“It’s the entropy,” Coran murmurs, eyes widening. “Keith, how much have you deviated from your normal behavior in the loops?”

“Uh.” Hoo, boy. “A-a lot, I guess.”

“And when you have,” Coran continues, standing up and making his way to the observation deck, “has it mostly been with Shiro and Lance?”

“Uh,” he says again, face turning red. It’s the only answer he can provide without thoroughly humiliating himself. It’s the only thing he needs to say, apparently, because Coran nods sagely.

“Well, that explains why they’re so,” he gestures toward Shiro and Lance, who are still growling at each other over Keith’s shoulders. “Well.”

Great. More reason to feel guilty for taking advantage of time rewinding itself—he’d attracted all the fucking chaos to his friends. His crushes. He’d hardly spent any time at all around the others—no wonder they seemed so...well, normal. Strangely calm, given the circumstances, but they weren’t about to throw hands with one another, so. Normal enough.

“The good news is,” Coran says with a smile and a shrug, “the edge of the time pocket is approaching. This whole mess should be over with—”

“Damn it, Shiro, he’s already totally in love with you. You have him! So let me—”

“—in no time—”

“He was mine, first, Lance! I get to—”

“Ohoho, so he’s  _ yours _ , huh?”

“—at all!”

R e s e t.

 

Keith’s eyes snap open, and he sits up, panting, groggy and trying to catch his bearings. What was it Coran had been saying? He’d hardly been able to hear it over Lance and Shiro’s fighting—

Desperate, he fumbles for his holopad, clicking on it to check the date.

It changed. It’s tomorrow.  _ Today _ . Finally. He’s so happy and relieved, he thinks he might cry, but he takes a few deep breaths and collects himself.

He can finally move on with things. Being able to be with Lance and Shiro was fun, while it had lasted, but now it was time to move past it. He’s had his fun, and he has to leave them in peace.

It hurts more than he wants to admit, but that’s just how it is.

He forces himself out of bed and into his clothes. Might as well get breakfast. He runs into Hunk in the hallway.

“Hey, man,” Hunk greets, rubbing his head with a yawn. “Man, I’ve got such a headache. All that time stuff is really a lot to wrap my head around—”

Keith freezes in place. “What?”

“Huh? You don’t remember?” Hunk blinks. “Actually, that kinda makes sense, in a fucked up way. You were the only one who knew it was happening at the time, and none of us did. Now you don’t remember it at all, and we do—”

“No, no, I remember, just—you do, too?”

Hunk shrugs. “Yeah. It’s all sorta, coming back to me, you know? I mean, I guess I shouldn’t assume that the others are gonna get the memories, too, but—hey, where are you going?”

Keith doesn’t answer, pale and breaking into a cold sweat as he runs to Lance’s room, which he knows he and Shiro have been sharing, and pounds on the door. It opens before he’s knocked the third time, and he stumbles inside, Lance standing by the door with his robe clutched tight around him, face pinched with worry and anguish.

“Keith,” he breathes, and then groans, throwing his head back. “Man, should have known you’d come running over here. No way you’d let me live this shit down—”

Shiro is sitting on the bed, massaging his temples, looking utterly exhausted. He doesn’t even glance in Keith’s direction, just going tense and rigid when he hears his name.

“You guys remember, too,” Keith says, voice thick. At this point he doesn’t think he can get much lower. His friends know he totally took advantage of weird time bullshit to mess around with them—

“Yeah, we remember alright,” Lance grumbles.

—to butt into their relationship.

“Rather I didn’t. God, I’m so embarrassed,” he continues to lament. Shiro is still silent. Keith wants to just melt through the floow and out of existence. God, how could he have been so stupid, and selfish? He’s a homewrecker like, thirty times over by now, or something. They probably both hate his guts.

“This isn’t—I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he starts, stumbling over his words.

“Neither did we,” Shiro finally speaks up, his voice heavy and low.

“I should have—I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just thought it was the only way—”

Lance is narrowing his eyes, lips pursed. “The only way to  _ what _ ?” Keith flushes dark under Lance’s gaze—and Shiro’s utter refusal to look at him. He’s so ashamed.

“To...to ever be close to you guys. The way I want to be, I mean,” he explains, voice small and weak. “I like you.” The confession is choked, strangled, painful. “Both of you. And I just—I don’t know what to do. I thought I could. I don't know. Get it out of my system, in the stupid time warp, without having to bother the two of you with it.” He drops his head, hating the way his eyes sting. “I’m so, so sorry. I’ve fucked everything up.”

“Bother us?”

It’s Shiro, and his voice is clearer. He’s turned to face them. “Keith, no, we aren’t—we aren’t mad at you.”

“I mean, it was a little bit messed up. Oh man, especially when I walked in on you guys—or when Shiro walked in on  _ us _ —” Lance kneels down beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. “But we lost our  _ shit _ the last few times around.”

Shiro joins them after a moment, and Keith is trapped within their warmth—and this is so different from that last repetition. There’s nothing intimidating about it. In fact, he finds himself relaxing at the contact, the proximity. He feels safe. Still totally embarrassed, but safe.

“Keith,” Shiro breathes, “we want to apologize to you, too. This isn’t the way we wanted you to find out.”

He sits up, glancing between the two, brows furrowed in confusion. “Find out what?” Lance and Shiro give each other one of those looks, the kind that Keith doesn’t understand.

“Well,” Lance starts slowly, eyes still fixed on Shiro. “We—we haven’t really been able to agree on how to approach you.”

“We just didn’t want to seem—I don’t know—predatory?” Shiro tries.

“We didn’t want to pressure you into anything,” Lance clarifies, and Shiro nods his agreement. Keith is so fucking  _ lost _ .

“I’m so fucking lost.”

“We like you, too,” Shiro explains, a smile tugging at his lips, even though he still looks totally exhausted. “We’ve been trying to decide how to talk to you about... You know. Joining us.”

“What do you mean?”

Lance rolls his eyes, but it doesn’t seem—mean. He’s smiling. Blushing, too. “God, mullet, are you actually this dense? We want to date you. Both of us.”

Keith’s face has never been redder. “Oh.” He fumbles for something more eloquent, but fails, and ultimately just turns to hide his face in Shiro’s chest, so he ends up feeling more so than hearing his responding chuckle.

“Is that a ‘yes?’” He asks, so softly, almost shy. Tender. Keith reaches over to tug Lance closer, and he nods, still refusing to face them. He’s so—  _ so _ — overwhelmed.

Happy.

“Yeah,” he finally rasps. “Yeah, I—holy shit, I definitely want that. Both of you.” No sooner have the words left his lips than he’s being wrapped up in a warm embrace, from all sides, Lance nuzzling into the back of his neck and Shiro resting his chin on top of his head, the smiles radiating off of them so brightly, Keith doesn’t even need to look to know that they’re there.

“Well, then,” Shiro starts, “I think we should go back to bed, then. We’ve earned some extra sleep.”

“And cuddles,” Lance pipes in. “Lots and lots of cuddles.” Keith can’t agree more, and is all too happy to follow the two back into Lance’s bed, carefully arranging themselves so that they can all fit comfortably. “Mm. Yeah, we’re gonna have to figure out a way to get a bigger bed if this is going to work. I’m not about to play body tetris like this every night.” The ensuing laughter dissolves the rest of the tension right out of them, and Keith finds himself falling into the most restful sleep he’s had in—

Well. Far, far too long.


End file.
